DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The battle for Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup eligibility is heating up, which means two things:

One — the thermometer says it’s summer;

Two — it’s time to head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

This Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301 kicks off the “Race to the Chase,” the 10-race stretch that leads to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The Race to the Chase begins amid Granite State greenery and ends on a September Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway — Race No. 26 and the cutoff point for Chase eligibility.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams then return to New Hampshire the following week to begin the Chase, in which the top 12 drivers (following Richmond) battle for the series title during the season’s final 10 races.

The mix of tracks in the Race to the Chase presents a worthy challenge. Drivers begin with New Hampshire’s flat, tricky one-mile oval and proceed, in order, to Daytona International Speedway’s high-banked 2.5-mile surface, Chicagoland Speedway’s 1.5-mile tri-oval, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile tradition, Pocono Raceway’s triangular 2.5-mile layout, the season’s second road-course event at Watkins Glen International, Michigan International Speedway’s 2-mile oval, Bristol Motor Speedway’s high-banked half-mile, Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile tri-oval and finally, Richmond’s .75-mile venue.

Atlanta is the only track new to the 2009 Race to the Chase; its second event of the season now takes place on Labor Day weekend.

First, however, a deceptively difficult New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“It’s a little bit unique and it’s one that makes us work hard, that’s for sure,” said 2003 series champion Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford), who’s seeking his first victory there.